


Father and Son

by ColhanTheDeviant



Series: Early Days [17]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-21
Updated: 2007-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-22 04:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColhanTheDeviant/pseuds/ColhanTheDeviant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yasopp watched his captain interact with Luffy and Ace. As he does so his thoughts go to his son and questions what might have been had he stayed and what Usopp will think of him when they finally meet again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father and Son

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This was written before the Impel Down Arc when Luffy and Ace's backstorys were shown. So it doesn't match canon wise.

He watched the trio from the small crack in the door that was the entrance to the Captains Quarters.

In the room was a worn wooden desk with an oil lamp, a book and a pen with its bottle if ink nearby. The only light in the room was provided by the soft moonlight coming from the only window in the room. The light shone on the three sleeping on the bed as they slept unaware of their visitor. Shanks, his captain was asleep on his back, his left arm was hanging from the bed, his hand grasping a children's story book that he had most likely been reading to the boys before nodding off along with them. Seven year old Luffy was curled up on the captains stomach with his head resting on the red haired mans chest, the captain had at some point brought his right arm to wrap around the boy, his hand resting on the little ones back. Ace looked as if he had, had an episode just after the other two had fallen asleep. The ten year old was sprawled out at the end of the bed face plated in the pirate's legs with his orange hat on the floor.

He often teased his captain along with his crewmates about how fatherly captain acted towards Luffy and Ace. He would tease and joke around with Luffy sometimes railing the boy up to where Luffy would start fuming. He would on occasion allow the young boy to steal food from his plate, although sometimes Luffy forfeited stealing and went to the puppy eyed look to get his captain to share any food he was eating…needless to say the puppy eyed look worked every time. Whenever there wasn't any chores to do Luffy and Ace would show up to play a game, often one that lead to Luffy and Shanks chasing each other around the deck with Shanks yelling teasing remarks the whole time and Ace shaking his head. His captain got along with Ace so long as he didn't swear in front of Luffy. Shanks always helped carry Ace to bed when he had an episode and talked with him when Luffy went to play with the other Red Haired Pirates. Whenever the boys got into one of their wrestling matches, Shanks helped them get cleaned up. Shanks also made them snacks from time to time.

Not to mention how protective his captain was of the two boys. Whenever Luffy would get bullied or hurt Shanks would always try to cheer the boy up until Ace showed up. Cleaning his injuries and trying to take the boys mind off what happened with a game until Luffy felt ready to talk about it. Shanks could only do so much about the bullying; when he was witness he made sure to tell the bullies off, mostly just seeing him was enough to send the kids running simply because he was a pirate. Yasopp remembered after Shanks had cleaned Luffy up and the boy had fallen asleep in the captain's quarters. Shanks voiced how he wished he could tell the bullies off for picking on Luffy just for being different, but couldn't because they were children…and plus he was a pirate. While most people in Fuchsia Village didn't mind the pirates being around some avoided them; most of the bullies that picked on Luffy where from rich snobby families that wanted nothing to do with the pirates using their village as a base.

While Shanks had tried once all he had gotten back was a telling off and a door slammed rudely in his face. Ace preferred to deal with them, saying it was his responsibility to protect Luffy being the older brother. Shanks had also told him he felt he had to take some blame for what some of those bullies were picking on Luffy for. He had walked in on Luffy being picked on by a trio of boys calling him a monster. Shanks saw himself for being at fault for Luffy eating the Gomu Gomu no Mi. As captain Shanks took all responsibility for anything his crew did, they never found out who had been holding the chest with the Devil Fruit in it and left it open on the counter of the bar that day. Yasopp knew his captain saw the two boys, Luffy especially, as his own sons and felt bad about Luffy being picked on because of his newly acquired Devil Fruit abilities.

As he watched the trio slumbering in the cabin, he had to wonder if he and his son could have had something similar to this if he had stayed in Syrup Village. Banchina had insisted that he should go out to sea as he had dreamed of doing for years. Feeling that he could do nothing for Banchina and their only son he felt it was best that he leave. He couldn't do anything about the illness that seemed to become worst every day, and it seemed that no matter how hard he tried he felt that he could never give Ussop the life he wanted his son to have. He wondered though how they both were doing now.

He had to wonder if had he stayed, was what his captain had with Luffy and Ace be what he and Usopp would have had? Or would he simply be a failure as a husband and father as he felt he would have been all those years ago? Shanks had no children of his own as far as Yasopp knew, and yet he could easily tell that Luffy and Ace saw him as a father figure.

What did Usopp think of him?

Would he be upset that his father had become a pirate?

Would Usopp still think of him as his father despite abandoning him and his mother?

There were so many questions that Yasopp was afraid to find the answers to…yet at the same time he wanted those answers as badly as he wanted to go out to sea before he and Banchina met and married.

He knew he would have to face his son one day, because he wanted more than anything else then to see the man he would grow up to be.

Taking one last look at his captain and the two boys he walked off to his own cabin.

When he and Usopp met again, Yasopp would be sure that he would be someone Usopp was proud of despite being a failure as a father.


End file.
